"Fine. I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Don't piss him off." Ish hung up to go get dressed properly so he could go see what damage he'd have to undo for the brothers.

Cal grumbled under his breath about people having no faith in him and having to get along with such a jerk and other such things as he put his phone away. He glanced at his brother.

"Ish is on his way," he said.

Nik nodded, though he still had half his attention on Gabriel and Christine. Hey, he was observant, he'd noticed Cal's slip-up earlier and he was going to make sure nothing happened to Christine, for Cal's sake if nothing else.

Christine glanced at the brothers, frowning just a bit even as she let Gabriel crowd into her space while they waited for Ish.

Ish arrived a few minutes later, and his attention was immediately on the archangel.

"Gabriel," he greeted, nodding slightly.

"Ishiah." Gabriel returned the nod. "Good to see you. It's been a few centuries. Looks like retirement suits you." He grinned.

"Sometimes it doesn't feel like anything has changed," Ishiah replied.

"I know the feeling." Gabriel sighed before he shook himself. "I was hoping you could do me a favor, actually."

"A favor?" Ish asked, raising an eyebrow slightly. "What could you possibly need from me?"

"These three don't believe me." Gabriel shrugged. "Those two know you, at least, and I'll convince my daughter somehow eventually."

"A daughter, Gabriel?" Ishiah asked. "I thought you were one of the most vocal on the subject. Short of Michael, of course."

Gabriel shrugged. "I was. But things change." He draped a familiar arm over Christine, which she scowled at. "Ish, this is Christine. Christine, this is one of my former charges, Ishiah."

"Hi." Christine still looked rather mistrustful and confused about the whole situation.

Ish nodded briefly to Christine before turning his attention back to Gabriel. It was never a good idea to let an archangel out of your sight.

"What did you call me here for?" he asked frankly. He did not, however, say there were other things that needed his attention. Tact and all.

"I need your help convincing those two that I am who I say I am." Gabriel shrugged. "It shouldn't take long, I know you have your life down here now." Because he did appreciate Ishiah's tact, and he made a mental note to reward the peri somehow.

Ish raised an eyebrow, glancing at the brothers, and then sighed. Of course the Leandros brothers were involved in this somehow. Why wouldn't they be?

"He is," he said simply to them.

Niko eyed Ish for a few moments before he nodded slowly. They knew the peri well enough by now to know that he wasn't lying. Which meant that Gabriel was actually an angel. Or archangel, if Nik remembered correctly.

"Very good. Oh, by the way, I'm probably going to need help training her before she blows something up on accident." Gabriel smiled fondly at Christine.

"I don't need your help." Christine shrugged away from him, taking a few steps off to the side and crossing her arms over her chest.

This time, Ish raised an eyebrow at Gabriel.

"I'm retired," he reminded. "And I have no desire to be reinstated."

"You won't be. You don't need to be." Gabriel shrugged. "I'm sure you can manage to train one nephilim without needing to be reinstated or anything."

Ish just looked at Gabriel, weighing his options. Gabriel was clearly underestimating the girl; Ish could feel her power even from where he was standing, and he had some doubts as to how much he could teach her. But, ultimately, nobody said 'no' to an archangel short of the Almighty Himself, and he sighed.

"Very well."

"Excellent." Gabriel grinned, looking well pleased. "I'll give her a nudge in the right direction, then. We'll see you all shortly."

And with that he popped himself and Christine away to go talk in private so they could hash some things out. Like why he'd been absent all her life.

As soon as he was gone, Ish sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had really hoped to leave most of this behind when he retired, not have it thrown into his lap again.

"It would seem there are some things we don't know yet," Niko said cautiously, watching Ish. Because he had a temper on the best of days, and he didn't actually want to piss off the peri. Retired angel. Whatever.

"Some things are common knowledge, for anyone who thinks to ask," Ish replied, giving Niko an even look.

"Tell us, then." Niko returned the look, though he added a quirked eyebrow. Because clearly now he needed to know all this stuff.

"This is not a conversation to be had in the open," Ish said instead of answering. He checked his watch. "When I open the bar for the evening, stop by and I will answer your questions then. Fair?"

Niko nodded, even though he knew their apartment was safe from prying ears.

"Fair enough," he agreed. "We'll see you then."